Printing device for statistical card punching machines



May 10, 1955 w. WOCKENFUSS PRINTING DEVICE FOR STATISTICAL CARD PUNCHING MACHINES 2 shets-sheet 1 Filed March 4, 1950 INVENTOR. William llbvkerzfmsts, M

am'om May 10, 1955 w. WOCKENFUSS 2,708,020

PRINTING DEVICE FOR STATISTICAL CARD PUNCHING MACHINES Filed March 4, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I 55- i' ll-lllllllll /U /7 i "INN null IIIlll I" f l 5/ INVENTOR. 62 h jlbam kfldmzlflass,

United States Patent PRINTING DEVICE FOR STATISTICAL CARD PUNCHING MACHINES William Wockenfuss, Union, -N. J., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Burroughs Corporation, a corporation of Michigan Application March 4, 1950, Serial No. 147,610

17 Claims. (Cl. 197-1) always in the same fixed position relative to an edge of the card, the usual position being along an edge thereof above the columns in which the index points are punched.

The present invention provides a printing device by means of which a line of characters may be printed in any preselected area of a card by preliminarily adjusting the printing head of said device to the desired position where it will print said characters as the punching of the card progresses.

Another feature of the invention resides in the provision of a printing head adjustable to various positions between opposed edges of a record card and comprising a plurality of printing elements selectable in various combinations to form difierent characters, and wherein operable members, each individual to one of said characters, control the actuation of various combinations of said printing elements to print the characters when the members corresponding thereto are operated.

The inventive idea involved is capable of receiving a variety of expressions one of which, for purposes of illustration, is shown in the accompanying drawings; but it is to be expressly understood that said drawings are employed merely for the purpose of facilitating the description of the invention as a whole and not to define the limits thereof, reference being had to the appended claims for this purpose.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a front elevation of a statistical card punching machine showing the present invention applied thereto;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary side elevation partly broken away and shown in section;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section of the print head adjusting unit, taken substantially on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary plan view of said unit, taken on the line 44 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary rear elevation, partly broken away, of the print head adjusting unit;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary front elevation of said unit taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic view of the solenoids and their circuits for operating the printing elements of the print head, and also illustrating one of the key operated mem bers and its contacts necessary to selectively energize certain of said solenoids to print one of the characters which may be formed by a combination of said printing elements.

The invention is illustrated, generally, in its adaptation to the type of machine disclosed in the Mills Patent No. 2,046,082, dated June 30, 1936, wherein key operated members are utilized to control the operation of the punches and that of a plurality of type sectors which imprint a line of characters in a fixed and unalterable position along the upper edge of a record card. As distinguished therefrom, the machine herein disclosed has but a single printing head substituted for the plurality of type sectors of said patent and which is capable of adjustment relative to a record card so as to be positioned to print in any desired area of said card located between opposed edges thereof.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the card punching machine to which the present invention is applied comprises a main casing 10 above which is supported the usual card carriage 11 adapted to receive a record card 12, indicated in dot and dash lines, that is advanced with said carriage in a step-by-step movement relative to a row of punches 13 by a mechanism within said casing which may be similar to that shown in said patent and which forms no part of the present invention. Cards are fed to the carriage 11 from a magazine 14 by a known picker mechanism generally indicated at 15 and, after being punched, said cards are deposited into a receptacle 16 at one side of the casing 10. The operating mechanism for the punches 13 may be controlled, as in said patent, from the keys 17 mounted in the lower front portion 18 of the casing 10, each key being individual to an alphabetical, numeric, or like character to be printed.

The printing device of the present invention comprises a single print head 19 consisting of a plurality of printing wires 20 (Fig. 3) each encased in a flexible cable 21 and closely grouped in said head and adapted to be momentarily projected therefrom in various selectable combinations each capable of printing a character identified by one of the keys 17. At the ends of the wires 20 remote from the head 17 they are each connected to the core of a solenoid 22 enclosed within a housing 23 mounted above the keyboard. In Fig. 7, the thirty-five solenoids 22 are shown as having one terminal of the winding of each connected to a common conductor 24 leading to a suitable current source, while the other terminal of each solenoid winding is connected to a bus bar 25 individual thereto. Joined to the various keys 17 are a plurality of operating bars or members 26 utilized in any suitable manner, such as shown in the above mentioned patent, to operate the punches 13 individual to said keys, and each of said bars carries a conducting strip 27 which is individual to the particular character to be printed by the head 19 and Whose code is to be punched in the card 12. As an example, said bar 26 and its conducting strip 27 shown in Fig. 7 identify the letter A and, for this character, the strip 27 carries eighteen contacts 28 which engage with associated bus bars 25 when the bar 26 is operated by a depression of the key 17 for said character. The strip 27 is connected to the other line conductor 29 which is multipled to the various other strips 27 each of which carries different sets of contacts 28 that are adapted to engage the bus bars 25 for the energization of various groups of solenoids which are then energized to operate their printing elements 20 to print characters identified by said sets of contacts.

As will be seen from the full and dotted line positions of the head 19 in Fig. 1, the same is capable of adjustment in two directions one of which is vertical and the other horizontal with respect to the card 12. Thus, with the head in the full line position, a horizontal line of printing may be accomplished along and adjacent the upper edge of the card or along the lower edge as indicated in dotted lines, or said head may be adjusted to any position intermediate those illustrated. Also, depending upon whether all columns of the card or a lesser number thereof are to be punched, the head may be adjusted horizontally to a position at the extreme left end of the card directly in line with the first column thereof or may be moved to any intermediate horizontal position. Associated with the head 19 is a guide 30 through which the ribbon 3]. extends, and in order to permit of the free movement of the ribbon through said guide when the head is adjusted to a preselected vertical position adjacent the upper or lower edge of the card, the feed and take-up reels 32 for said ribbon are mounted in brackets 33 for pivotal movement about horizontal axes.

The printing head 19 and ribbon guide 30 are secured to the upper end of a vertically adjustable member 34 in the form of a bar having rack teeth 35 along one edge and being serrated at 36 along its other edge and said bar is a part of the head adjusting unit illustrated in Figs. 3 to 6. Said unit is enclosed within a housing 37 and comprises a stationary frame consisting of end pieces 38, only one of which is shown in Fi gs. 3 and 4. Said pieces 38 have secured to the ends thereof the parallel, longitudinally arranged rack bars 39, and extending upwardly from the center of each of said pieces 38 is the vertically disposed bracket 40 through the upper flanged end of which extends a screw bolt 41 that supports the 'yoke member 42 that has connected thereto a guide bar 43, the purpose of which will later appear. The stationary frame of the unit also includes an upright 44 at each end thereof and at the rear of the end pieces 38, and said uprights have attached thereto a horizontal guide rail 45.

The vertically adjustable member 34 extends between opposed guide plates 46 and is slotted at 47 (Fig. to receive guide pins 48 carried by one of said plates. Upper and lower guide rollers 49 and 50 on the opposed guide plates 46 engage, respectively, the rail 45 and the lower edge of the rear bar 39 to guide the movable assembly of the adjusting unit including the member 34 in its horizontal movements when the head 19 is being adjusted longitudinally of the card 12. Spring urged detents 51 (Fig. 5) disposed between the guide plates 46 engage the serrations 36 of the member 34 to frictionally retain said member in its vertically adjusted positions.

To vertically adjust the member 34, and consequently the head 19, a shaft 52 having a turning knob 53 on its outer and extends through a slotted plate 54 secured to the front of the housing 37, and said shaft then extends transversely over the stationary frame which includes the rack bars 39 and through a bearing aperture in laterally extending portion 46x of the forward one of the plates 46. Said shaft 52 carries upon its rear end a gear 55 which meshes with the teeth 35 of the member 34 so that turning of the shaft in one direction or the other will raise or lower said member 34 and the attached head 19.

The horizontal adjustment of the head 19 lengthwise of the card 12 is accomplished by a second shaft 56 having a turning knob 57 secured to its outer end. Said shaft surrounds the shaft 52, and between the knob 57 and the plate 54 there is interposed a pointer plate 58 apertured to receive the shaft 56 and having opposed inturned flanges 59 that engage the upper and lower edges of the slot formed in the plate 54. The pointer of the plate 58 moves over a card column indicating scale etched or otherwise formed along the upper edge of the plate 54. Within the housing 37, the shaft 56 has secured thereto the two gears 60 suitably spaced on the shaft so as to engage the teeth of the rack bars 39 so that as the shaft is rotated in either direction the entire movable portion of the adjusting unit including the two shafts 52 and 56, the plates 46 and the member 34 will be guided along the bars 39, with the pointer 58 moving along the graduations on the plate 54 to indicate the desired columnar position to which the head 19 is to be adjusted. An elongated plate 61 loosely mounted upon the shaft 56 between the inner edges of the flanges 59 and the front gear 60, carries the spring urged detents 62 which engage the teeth of the adjacent rack bar 39 and act to frictionally retain the movable assembly in its selected position of horizontal adjustment.

Intermediate the ends of the shaft 56, the same has secured thereto a sleeve 63 carrying a series of friction discs 64 which are engaged by the guide bar 43 when the adjusting unit is completely assembled, and the engagement of said bar with the discs retains the shaft assembly against any slight upward movement and also maintains the gears 60 in engagement with their respective rack bars as the knob 57 is turned to horizontally adjust the head 19. The shaft 52 and the rollers 49 and 50 provide threepoint support for the movable assembly comprising the plates 46. The gear 55 entering between the plates 46 provides additional guidance for the movable unit.

What is claimed is:

1. In a printing device for a statistical card punch wherein the card to be punched is supported upon a movable carriage, the combination of a printing head with respect to which said card is movable and which is adapted to print a character upon said card each time the latter is punched, means to operate said head to print said character, and manually controlled means to move said head to any preselected position between opposed edges of said card so that said head will, in response to repeated operations thereof, print'a line of characters on the card in a plane corresponding to the adjusted position of said head.

2. In a printing device for a statistical card punch wherein the card to be punched is supported upon a movable carriage, the combination of a printing head with respect to which said carriage and card are movable and which is adapted to print a character upon said card each time the latter is punched, means to operate said head to print said character, and means to impart a twodirectional adjustment to said head to any preselected position relative to and within the confines of the area of said card.

3. In a printing device for a statistical card punch, the combination of a printing head comprising a plurality of printing elements selectable in various combinations each capable of printing a character on a record card, means to impart a two-directional adjustment to said head to any preselected position relative to and between opposed edges of said card, means to select a combination of said printing elements, and means to operate the elements of said combination to print a character on said card.

4. In a printing device for a statistical card punch wherein the card to be punched is supported upon a movable carriage, the combination of a casing, a printing head supported by said casing and relative to which said carriage and card are movable, said head comprising a plurality of printing elements selectable in various combinations each capable of printing a character, means to adjust said head to any preselected position between opposed edges of said card, a ribbon guide carried by said head, ribbon reels pivotally mounted on said casing, a ribbon extending between said reels and movable through said guide and acting to move said reels about their pivots when said head is adjusted in a direction transverse to the direction of movement of said ribbon through said guide, means to select a combination of said printing elements, and means to operate the elements of said combination to print a character on said card.

5. In a printing device for a statistical card punch wherein the card to be punched is supported upon a movable carriage, the combination of a printing head relative to which said carriage and card are movable and comprising a plurality of printing elements selectable in various combinations each capable of printing a character, means to select a combination of said printing elements, means controlled by the last named means to operate the elements of said combination to print a character on said card, and means to adjust said head in one plane to any preselected position between opposed edges of said card, said adjusting means including a rack bar on which said head is mounted, a rotatable shaft, and a gear on said shaft meshing with said rack bar to adjust the same in said plane when said shaft is rotated.

6. In a printing device for a statistical card punch wherein the card to be punched is supported upon a movable carriage, the combination of a printing head relative to which said carriage and card are movable and comprising a plurality of printing elements selectable in various combinations each capable of printing a character, means to select a combination of said printing elements, means controlled by the last named means to operate the elements of said combination to print a character on said card, and means to impart a twodirectional adjustment to said head including a unit movable in one of said directions, stationary guide rails certain of which are provided with rack teeth, a rack bar supported by said unit for movement in the other of said directions and to which said head is attached, a rotatable shaft forming part of said movable unit and having a gear meshing with said rack bar for moving the same and said head in said other direction, a second rotatable shaft also forming part of said unit and having gearing meshing with the teeth of said certain guide rails to move said unit and said rack bar in the first named direction, and means engaging said stationary rails to guide the movement of said unit in said first named direction.

7. In a printing device for a statistical card punch, the combination of a printing head comprising a plurality of printing elements selectable in various combinations each capable of printing a character on a record card, means to adjust said head to any preselected position relative to and within the area of said card, a plurality of electromagnetic devices each connected to one of said printing elements for operating the same when said devices are energized, circuits for said devices, and operable members each identifying one of said combinations of printing elements and the character to be formed thereby and each having a plurality of contacts individual to said character for closing certain of said circuits when the operable member corresponding to said character is actuated.

8. In a printing device for a statistical card punch in which a record card is moved lengthwise while being punched, the combination of a movable carriage upon which said card is mounted for lengthwise movement 1 thereof, a printing head having a preselected fixed position relative to which said carriage is movable while said head is printing a line of characters lengthwise of said card and said head being adjustable with respect to said carriage and card preliminary to printing on the latter, means to operate said head to print said line of characters, and manually controlled means to adjust the head to its preselected position including a first means operable to move the head horizontally to a predetermined position and a second means operable to move the head vertically from the latter position to its preselected fixed position.

- 9. In a printing device for a statistical card punch wherein data is punched in a record card in successive operations of the punch as said card is advanced step by step relative to the punch elements, and in which characters corresponding to the data to be punched are printed on said card concomitantly with the punching thereof, the combination of a printing head operable to print said characters, means to actuate said head, means operable preliminary to punching a card and printing thereon for horizontally moving the head relative to the card to a predetermined position and other means operable preliminary to punching a card and printing thereon for vertically moving the head from the latter predetermined position to a preselected position.

10. In a printing device for a statistical card punch wherein the card to be punched is supported upon a movable carriage, the combination of a printing head relative to which said card and carriage are movable and which is adapted to form a line of print on said card as it is being punched, adjustable means to preliminarily move said head to any preselected position relative to said card, said adjustable means including manually controlled means to move the head horizontally to a predetermined position and other manually controlled means to move the head transversely from the latter position to the preselected position, and means to then operate said head to print a line of characters identifying the punchings in said card as the movement of the carriage proceeds.

11. In a printing device for a statistical card punch wherein the card to be punched is supported upon and movable with a movable carriage, the combination of a printing head relative to which said carriage is mow able and comprising a plurality of printing elements selectable in various combinations each capable of printing a character on said card each time it is punched, means to adjust said head to any preselected position relative to said card and in a direction transverse to that of the carriage movement, and means to then seelectively operate various combinations of said printing elements to print a line of characters identifying the punchings in said card. 1

12. In a printing device for a statistical card punch, the combination of a printing head comprising a plurality of printing elements selectable in various coinbinations each capable of printing a character, means to adjust said head relative to a record card to any one of a plurality of positions within the area thereof and each at a different distance from any two adjacent sides of the card, means to select a combination of said printing elements, electrical circuit closing members closable by the latter means upon a selection of the printing elements being made, and electromagnetic means operable upon the closing of said closing members to operate the elements of said combination to print a character on the card. i

13. In a printing device for a statistical card punch wherein data is punched in a record card in successive operations of the punch as said card is advanced step by step relative to the punch elements, and in which characters corresponding to the data to be punched are printed on said card concomitantly with the punching thereof,'the combination of a printing head comprising a plurality of printing elements selectable in various combinations each capable of printing from a single stationary position of the print head one of said characters in a line extending parallel to one edge of the card as the card is advanced step by step relative to the print head, means to select a combination of the printing elements, means to operate the elements of the combination selected to print a character on the card, and manually controlled means for moving, preliminary to printing of any of the characters, the print head to its single stationary position from which all of said characters are printable.

14. In a printing device for a statistical card punch, the combination of a printing head comprising a plurality of printing elements selectable in various combinations each capable of printing a separate character on a record card, means to impart a two-directional adjustment to said head to any preselected position relative to and between opposed sides of the card, a plurality of electromagnetic devices each connected to one of the printing elements for operating the same when said devices are energized, circuits for the devices, and operable members each identifying one of said com-' binations of printing elements and the character to be formed thereby and each having a plurality of contacts individual to said character for closing certain of said circuits when the operable member corresponding to said character is actuated.

15. The combination set forth in claim 14 wherein the means to impart a two-directional adjustment to the printing head is characterized by a manually controlled carriage means to move the printing head horizontally relative to the record card in one direction to a predetermined position and other manually controlled means carried by the carriage means to move the head ver-' tically from the latter position to a preselected position.

16. The combination in a printing device including a movable carriage adapted to carry in a step by step manner a record card on which printing is to be effected, a printing head relative to which said card and carriage are movable and which is adapted to print any one of a plurality of different characters on the card each time the card is moved a step, the head comprising a plurality of printing elements selectable in various combinations, each combination capable of printing a different one of said characters, means to select a combination of the printing elements, means controlled by the latter means to operate the elements of the selected combination to print one of the difierent characters on the card and manually controlled means to adjust said printing head to any of a plurality of positions from any one of which it is adapted to print on the card all of said different characters.

17. In a recording device, a recording head, a record carriage movable step by step relative to said recording head, said head comprising a plurality of recording elements selectable in various combinations for recording diiferent ones of a plurality of data representations, means to select a combination of said recording elements, means controlled by said selecting means to operate the recording elements of the selected combination to record the related data representation on a record on said carriage, and manually controlled means to adjust said recording head parallel to said record to any of a plurality of positions in recording relation to said record.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,028,037 Litteberg May 28, 1912 1,441,385 Trew et a1. Ian. 9, 1923 2,129,065 Loop Sept. 6, 1938 2,542,632 Molin Feb. 20, 1951 

